After two silver medals, Denmark got its first gold in Barcelona thanks to the win of Jeanette Ottesen in 25.24, the best performance of the year. The 25 year-old swimmer had been already the fastest of the semis and got her second world title, after the victory in the 100m free two years ago in Shanghai (CHN). Ying Lu, from China, swimming in lane 8, clinched the silver in 25.42 (new Asian record), improving her 2011 performance, when she was fourth. Lu was also second in the 2012 Olympics in the 100m butterfly. The bronze went to Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED), who was also third in the 100m free and 4x100m free relay.

The 2011 champion and second Dutch of the final, Inge Dekker, concluded in fifth (25.83), while Dana Vollmer (USA), four-time Olympic gold medallist (namely in 2012 in the 100m butterfly) was eighth in 26.46. This final also registered the presence of an Egyptian swimmer, Farida Osman, who clocked 26.17 for the seventh spot.

"I'm very happy and relieved that I won. I've got a new trainer, so that makes the difference."

Silver medal winner: Lu Ying (CHN)

"I was not in a good shape in the 100m fly so I hoped to get a good result in this race. I'm happy I could stand on the podium in this race. It's not any difference between the Olympic silver I won in London last year [in the 100m fly] and this world silver tonight. I'll try my best to continue winning medals in the future."

Bronze medal winner: Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED)

"It was definitely a different year than last year, I took a long break after the Olympics, I was back in training last December."

"It's my first medal in a non-freestyle event, I wanted to try the 50m fly to keep enjoying swimming and keep swimming for more years."